Pay 2 life or B – how I learned to maximize my life total in Legacy for free spells.

April 11, 2011

So for those of you who haven’t seen the Buy a Box promo for New Phyrexia it is a card called Surgical Extraction:

The power level of this card is absurd, in Legacy – here is an example, let’s say for all intense and purposes you are playing a junk deck. Turn 1: thoughtseize, pick your card, lose two life. Obviously in this case you will want to target the biggest threat in his or her hand. Pay two life, cast Surgical Extraction, remove all copies of that card from the game. SERIOUSLY!!! WOOHOO!! yes it hurts to lose 4 life on turn 1, but really you just got ride of 4 cards for almost free.

While this card resemblance to Planer Chaos Extirpate is pretty much identical in some ways, it’s unique casting cost puts this card into the amazing category. I really look forward to wielding this card in my future deck builds. What makes this card disgusting and powerful in legacy is the ability to target non-basic lands. that’s right, you don’t like wasteland? get rid of it, Surgical Extraction it from the game. this card is the new power house in defensive plays. and it’s not even out yet.

If this is the direction New Phyrexia is going, will we perhaps have a new style of counter spell that will be equally as powerful as force of will finally?